ABSTRACT
This case illustrates that dissociation can be either normal or pathological, even in the same individual, depending on the cultural context and type of symptoms. In this case, dissociation was occurring in response to environmental stress (childbirth), which is typical. However, the individual learned to control her dissociative experiences and use them as a tool in her occupation as a spirit medium. In the non-Western cultural context, dissociative experiences of this type can be considered normal behavior, and the individual should not be considered to be suffering from a mental disorder. Trancerelated hallucinations in themselves are not enough to consider someone from a non-Western society mentally ill.
